Sanford Seminole's Cory Bryant (42) talks to head coach Mike Cullison on Friday, October 23, 2009, at Sanford Seminole High School in Sanford. Sanford was playing Lake Brantley in Football. (Chad Pilster, pilsterphotography.com)

Ron Moore, an assistant football coach for Seminole high school, says the resignation of head coach Mike Cullison was long overdue.

Cullison, 52, was under investigation by the Seminole County school district after he admitted to jokingly using the N-word with Moore. Superintendent Bill Vogel intended to submit his recommendation of termination for Cullison during a school board meeting Tuesday.

Moore sparked the investigation after reporting the incident to his principal.

“What I was upset about is what was taking so long? For him to come out and admit that he said it and you mean to tell me he’s been suspended and getting paid? I felt like that was a slap in my face,” said Moore, who contacted the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s not a bad guy, he just has problems.”

He added that Cullison has said the N-word before in the past and “there hasn’t been a year when he hasn’t used it.” Moore also said he and assistants, Kerry Wiggins, Britt Henderson and Robert Vite have never used the N-word in a joking manner and cited two additional situations when Cullison made racially disparaging remarks.

But when asked if he thought Cullison was a racist, Moore said no.

“I just think he was accustomed to doing those things at Jones high school,” Moore said. “This is not Jones high where it’s an F school off of Parramore, Rio Grande or whereever it is. I don’t know if that’s something they were accustomed to over there. The kids at Seminole are not accustomed to that coming from a coach.”

As an aside, Jones earned its first B-rating in 2010.

There is no official word yet if Seminole will hire a new coach or promote interim head coach Robert Vite.

Prior to Cullison’s hiring, the Seminoles combined for a 2-17 record after winning a district championship in 2004 with Mick Harris serving as the head coach.

Seminole hired Mike Cullison in 2007 and after a rough 4-5 start, the Seminoles clinched the school’s first Class 6A state championship in 2008. Seminole won its third consecutive district championship this season and has gone 20-6 in the past two seasons since 2008.

“Ron Moore, Britt Henderson, Kerry Wiggins and Robert Vite have been running the program for the last four years,” Moore said. “We kept everything together. He was just the figurehead. He was just the head coach.”

For those who have worked and/or know Seminole high school football coach Mike Cullison, there should be no doubt that he is not a racist despite his deplorable use of the N-word.

Cullison used the N-word jokingly with an assistant coach Ronald Moore, who reported the incident to his superiors. As my co-worker Mike Bianchi eloquently wrote in today’s paper, several of Cullison’s former athletes have stepped in to support their former coach, including Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson.

“I talk to him all the time,” Johnson told me on the phone. “He’s always trying to help everybody. I know that guy, he’s not a racist.”

Kenny Turner, also Chris Johnson’s friend, was sent to state prison at 16-years-old and cut short a promising football career. When almost every coach turned his back on Turner, Cullison was there. He wrote letters of support to Turner when he was in prison and helped him every step of the way to get a Division I scholarship to New Mexico State.

There are several other examples I could cite to show Cullison’s character over the past four years I’ve known him, but you get the point.

The bigger issue at hand, as we stand just a few days out from Martin Luther King Day, is the use of the N-word. So many hurdles have been cleared in the past five decades, including President Barack Obama’s 2008 nomination as America’s first president of African American descent.

But we still can’t get rid of this stupid word.

It’s a complex issue within the African American community. Some hate the N-word for its ugly, painful history. Some believe as long as it’s the N-word that ends with an “a” and not an “er” it’s OK because it doesn’t have the same connotation. It’s almost a term of endearment.

“I don’t mind using it,” Chris Johnson said. “There’s a difference between the “a” and the “er.”

Surely, Johnson has heard this word on more than a few occasions in the locker room. When you combine Johnson’s environment and age (he’s 25), I expect these things to desensitize his perspective on the word.

But when I asked Johnson if it was OK for a white person to say the N-word, he said no.

Herein lies the complexity of this word. African Americans know it is an offensive word on some level, but say it is excusable in very particular situations and then expect other cultures to understand the “rules” of the word.

I think in 2011, most people outside of the African American community understand this. But as in the case of 52-year-old Mike Cullison he did not.

As an African American woman, I’m opposed to the use of the N-word. Truth must be truth in all circumstances, not some.

If the truth about the N-word is that it’s unacceptable, then it can’t be acceptable in “some” situations. After all, how can we teach respect, if we’re not willing to be consistent in respecting ourselves?

Based on the Orange County public schools code of conduct for students, it is possible Dr. Phillips receiver Chris Gallon could miss the remainder of the football season.

According to the conduct policy, “a student who has been formally charged with a felony or similar offense by a prosecuting attorney shall be excluded from participation in extracurricular/co-curricular activities and athletics for a minimum of one calendar year. If the student is not found guilty or if the charges are dismissed, the student may return upon presenting documentation of the court’s decision.”

Dr. Phillips sat Chris Gallon in last week’s region semifinal, but no one in the administration indicated if his playing privileges were revoked because of the controversy surrounding his eligibility or because of his pending charges.

An important factor to note is that Gallon was formally charged with two counts of battery and hazing, both of which are misdemeanors not felonies. That could leave enough of a gray area here for Chris Gallon to contest the rule based on the interpretation.

There is no word yet as to whether or not Chris Gallon will participate in the Panthers’ region final against Seminole Ridge at home.

Dr. Phillips athletic director John Magrino said via e-mail the school’s standout wide receiver Chris Gallon will not compete this Friday in a Class 6A region semifinal against Oak Ridge at home.

No specific reason was given as to why or how long Gallon would not play. Magrino said he could not comment further on the matter. It is unclear whether or not Gallon will attend the game.

Gallon, 18, was ruled eligible to compete for the Dr. Phillips football team (11-0) before the season, but his playing status was again questioned after court documents showed a Seminole County address. The state attorney’s office filed charges against Gallon and prosecutors also filed charges against five unnamed underage teammates with two misdemeanor charges of battery and hazing after a freshman player was hospitalized shortly after a locker room altercation.

Gallon has been ordered to appear in court Dec. 21. State semifinals for Class 6A begin Dec. 10.

Gallon has no prior record so it is possible, should a deal be worked out, the case could be dropped by prosecutors.

It’s a really sad situation for all these young people involved, the victim and defendants. To think this is what they’re dealing with around the holidays just makes it all the more unsettling.

Stay tuned for more details on orlandosentinel.com/sports and Sentinel Sports Now.

Mainland head coach John Maronto during a high school football game against Osceola in Kissimmee, Fla., Friday, Sept. 17, 2010. (Photo/Reinhold Matay)

By law, John Maronto has the right to coach his Mainland high school football team despite his recent arrest.

By ethical standards, John Maronto shouldn’t be anywhere near a sideline right now.

Maronto told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this month the “truth would come out ” and on Monday, the truth did come out. Volusia County prosecutors released video and audio of Maronto’s September 4th arrest for the intent to solicit prostitution as part of a police sting resulting from complaints from business owners and citizens of “street-level prostitution.”

The evidence leaves no gray area. Maronto wanted something from another woman, not named Mrs. Maronto, on a street corner and, to his misfortune, she turned out to be an undercover cop.

Does this make him a terrible person? No. One egregious decision shouldn’t wipe out almost 70 years of good decisions.

But this does signal a serious character flaw in Maronto, one that happened to lead to an illegal activity, and it’s worth him stepping away from football for a moment to examine.

The only problem is the school doesn’t have the authority to punish a teacher or coach with pending charges unless he or she poses an immediate threat to students. School authorities determined Maronto wasn’t a threat and deemed him eligible to coach, but have the right to change their stance since new evidence has been released.

Though it’s doubtful school officials will revoke Maronto’s coaching privileges, he should step up as a leader and voluntarily step aside as Mainland’s football coach for now.

Maronto is facing bigger fights than stopping option offenses and blitzes. The choices he’s made recently have hurt his family and been a source of distraction for his team.

A few years ago, the Sentinel published a series about high school football state champions and Mainland’s 2003 team was featured.

The article, written by Buddy Collings, talked about the players’ willingness to be leaders. They told coaches not to worry about discipline as team captains would determine how many laps players would run for being late to practice. They had Fellowship of Christian Athlete meetings on Thursday nights followed by player-only meetings.

“Growing up, you heard about Mainland guys that had the ability but didn’t want to work or be coached,” said former player Reubin Mordecai. “Our thing was, ‘Let’s do it the right way. Let’s buy into what the coaches say.’”

Their message was about accountability. Something they learned from their coaches, including Maronto.

Taking responsibility is the hallmark of a good leader and that is something Maronto once did, but somehow has lost sight of in the haze of this debacle.

He still has an opportunity to be a good coach. But he’d be a great one for stepping away and teaching his athletes about doing the right thing even when and, especially when, you’re not being forced to.